Ezekiel Elliott, union file suit against NFL in federal district court in Plano

The bombshell came when NFL lead investigator Kia Roberts testified that she recommended no suspension for Elliott after months of analyzing the case and speaking with his former girlfriend, Tiffany Thompson, who had accused Elliott of domestic violence.

Author:
Clarence E. Hill Jr. / Star-Telegram , WFAA

Published:
7:15 AM CDT September 1, 2017

Updated:
7:55 AM CDT September 1, 2017

NFL arbitrator Harold Henderson is expected to make a ruling by Tuesday on Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott’s appeal of a six-game suspension for violating the personal conduct policy.

Elliott is not waiting that long for a decision.

Fueled by what they believe were procedural errors made by the NFL during the initial ruling, Elliott and the NFL Players Association filed suit in federal district court in Plano on Thursday night in hopes of gaining a temporary injunction to block the suspension, allowing him to play until the case is resolved.

According to the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Plano, just outside the Cowboys’ Frisco headquarters, the NFLPA said Elliott was subject to one of “the most fundamentally unfair arbitral processes conceivable.”

It also read that “Elliott and the Union were subjected to an arbitration process in which, among other things, there was a League-orchestrated conspiracy by senior NFL executives, including NFL Senior Vice President and Special Counsel for Investigations Lisa Friel, to hide critical information, which would completely exonerate Elliott.”

The NFLPA asks that any ruling by Henderson on the subject be vacated. The court would be asked to consider the “unfair processes” during the stay, allowing Elliott to play while matters were resolved in court.

The bombshell came when NFL lead investigator Kia Roberts testified that she recommended no suspension for Elliott after months of analyzing the case and speaking with his former girlfriend, Tiffany Thompson, who had accused Elliott of domestic violence.

According to a source, Roberts’ recommendation was not included in the investigative report following the 13-month investigation. Roberts was the only NFL employee who interviewed Thompson during the investigation.